HACKING THE CONSTITUTION

Calls for updates to the U. S. Constitution seem to increase daily. Clearly, this is a reaction to escalating abuses of the Constitution perpetrated, in their lust for dominance, by the two major parties.

Does the U. S. Constitution need updating? Absolutely! To cite just a few critical issues:

• The powers of the three current branches are badly out of balance.

• Restrictions on the powers of the three current branches are woefully inadequate.

• The powers of the states vs. the federal government lack clarity and specifics.

• The process for leadership selection has been corrupted.

• The structure of the government is incomplete – there is no meaningful role

  enumerated for the Citizenry (other than voting for pre-selected candidates).

• The enumeration of Citizens’ rights is incomplete – e.g., privacy and healthcare.

• The enumeration of Citizens’ responsibilities is totally absent.

The approach to constitutional reform that is presently in vogue is the Citizens’ Assembly model. This involves collecting a carefully balanced and sizable cross-section of the population to work together for a period of time, drafting updated provisions to our foundation document.

Obviously, there are considerable financial and logistical challenges to this approach. The more critical concern, however, is the ability of folks with minimal understanding of government to formulate provisions of appropriate quality. In addition, with any large group, there is the danger of failing to reach any sort of consensus. Look no further than our own impotent Congress.

Where this approach has been tried, the results have ranged from marginal to absurd. A 2012 citizens’ assembly in Iceland produced a document aimed at the resolution of immediate issues. This was overruled by the Icelandic Parliament, leaving the 1944 Constitution in place. A 2022 citizens’ assembly in Chile fell into the same trap and produced a huge document consisting of 387 articles that addressed all manner of complaints. When this went to a popular referendum, two-thirds of the voters said NO, and the Chileans were left with a Constitution framed under an era of dictatorship.

In both cases, delegates could not resist the temptation to use their constitution to resolve issues properly addressed through legislation. They exhibited a fundamental misunderstanding of the role a constitution must play in the modern nation-state.

A constitution is a framework for the government of an organization. It lays out the desired form of government and defines the organizational structure that will administer it. For each major component of the organization, its authority is defined as well as the limits to that authority. The process of selecting the organization’s leadership is another component of a constitution, as is the process for updating the governing document.

One article of a constitution would likely outline the process for making laws that adhere to the principles outlined in the constitution. Another article must delineate the rights and the responsibilities of the members of the organization (in this case, we Citizens). Perhaps the most important function of a constitution, however, is to present a vision for how the organization wishes to be perceived by the outside world.

Here is a plain language example. It would be appropriate for our new constitution to declare that it is the responsibility of all citizens and agencies to preserve the nation’s precious natural resources. It would be inappropriate for the Constitution to ban the use of all fossil fuels. A constitution sets the vision. Legislation deals with getting us there.

Is it impossible then for a Citizens’ Assembly to draft a worthy replacement for America’s 18th-century constitution? Absolutely not! However, such an assembly must be provided with a comprehensive framework for the document – a skeleton onto which they may add sinew. This will ensure that the assembly stays focused and on task.

Shown below is a sample framework. At my website, Citizen v2.1, you can see how this was used to guide the creation of a draft Constitution for 21^st Century America.

A Framework for the Next American Constitution

Preamble (no change)

Article I -- The Federal Government

Section 1. The Form of Government

Section 2. The Structure of Government

Section 3. Core Functions of a Federal Government

Section 4. Compensation for Federal Service

Section 5. Standards of Conduct for Government Employees

Article II -- The Role of Law

Section 1. The Purpose of Laws

Section 2. Precedence and Process

Section 3. The Making of Laws

Article III -- The Citizenry

Section 1. Citizenship

Section 2. The Role of the Citizenry

Section 3. Rights of the Citizen

Section 4. Responsibilities of the Citizen

Article IV -- The Legislative Branch

Section 1. Mission

Section 2. Common Responsibilities

Section 3. Common Restrictions

Section 4. The House of Representatives

(a) Composition

(b) Member Qualifications

(c) Member Selection and Terms of Office

(d) Organization

(e) Special Responsibilities

Section 5. The Senate

(a) Composition

(b) Member Qualifications

(c) Member Selection and Terms of Office

(d) Organization

(e) Special Responsibilities

Article V -- The Executive Branch

Section 1. Mission

Section 2. The Chief Executive

(a) Composition

(b) Qualifications of the President

(c) Selection of the President

(d) Organization

(e) Special Responsibilities

(f) Restrictions

Section 3. The Executive Departments and Agencies

(a) Composition

(b) Qualifications of the Leader

(c) Member Selection

(d) Organization

(e) Special Responsibilities

(f) Restrictions

Article VI -- The Judicial Branch

Section 1. Mission

Section 2. The Supreme Court

(a) Composition

(b) Qualifications of the Justices

(c) Term of Office

(d) Organization

(e) Special Responsibilities

(f) Restrictions

Article VII -- Rights Reserved to the States

Article VIII Amending The Constitution